


Blaze It

by Tobiyolowo



Category: Haikyuu!!, 風が強く吹いている | Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru | Run with the Wind (Anime)
Genre: :3, Angst, Broken Families, Bullied Kageyama Tobio, Bullying, Child Neglect, Dumbass Adorable Kageyama Tobio, HE IS BABIE HECK SO ADORABLE WHY WHY MY HEART HURTS, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kageyama Tobio Needs a Hug, Kageyama Tobio-centric, Kid Kageyama Tobio, M/M, Poor Kageyama Tobio, and so i shall hurt him :3, and that certain someone is ME, more characters to be added :3 i dont want to spoil my little wittle plan uwu, situation, someone needed to exploit the kitadaichi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:54:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22667353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tobiyolowo/pseuds/Tobiyolowo
Summary: It had been more than a fortnight since Tobio's mom went off on a trip and vanished off the face of the earth..And it just so happened that THAT fateful match took place right about that time.
Relationships: Kageyama Tobio & Kurahara Kakeru, Kiyose Haiji/Kurahara Kakeru
Comments: 18
Kudos: 278





	1. Chapter 1

It has been a fortnight since his mother left for a trip abroad. The curious thing is that she was supposed to be back home nearly a week ago, but here Tobio was, alone in his house, trying to call her but only getting the monotonous ‘phone is switched off’ message.

He wasn’t usually a paranoid person but the thought of her plane crashing had crossed his mind far too many times for his liking. So he had gone on to the internet, checked for any crashes and heaved a sigh of relief when it showed none. The next sensible option was that she had merrily decided to extend her vacay and simply forgotten to inform him. That, sadly, wasn’t all that unusual for her but he felt nice that she deemed him responsible enough to stay alone at home.

He squashed down the bubble of pride swelling up in his chest to focus on his current predicament.

In front of him laid his shoes on which someone had so nicely decided to write ‘king of the court’. It stung; so he had decided to wash them. In doing so the sole literally just fell apart. Tobio knew to cherish his things, to take care of them, and these were a fairly new pair! When the ink was somewhat lightened was when he noticed the crude slash marks marring their surface.

To think his teammates would do something like this; Tobio was enraged, he was angry, upset, betrayed and a mix of other similar negative emotions. Tomorrow is the final match of Junior High Athletics’ Meet and now he didn’t have the proper gear to go play in. It was obvious that whoever had done this wasn’t so keen on him playing. His mind wandered off to multiple possible subjects, a certain flashy reserve setter being the most likely one. Maybe Kunimi or Kindaichi..? He shook his head vigorously. They used to be friends, they wouldn’t do something as mean like this, would they?

Right now he had a mere 5 hours to arrange money, go to the shop all the way to the market, buy new shoes and come back home. The only issue? He didn’t have any money left. His mother had left him with enough to cover his food and travel expenses for a week and some. He had to use his personal savings for the new weights he wanted to buy to fund his food the past days and he was running low. He barely had enough to cover dinner for tomorrow, and now this heavy expense. Hence the reason he was trying to call his mother to ask for her permission to borrow money from her safe.

The last time he had entered her room without her permission had lead to a harsh lesson. His back still twinged in phantom pain just from remembering.

She could be back any day, any moment and he didn’t want to risk a repetition of the consequences. But he really, really needed shoes for tomorrow. Maybe he could ask Kindaichi if he could lend him his old ones..? Given that they weren’t on speaking terms nowadays but he would certainly understand why he needed shoes right?

Wrong. Tobio had barely uttered one word before the other teen had promptly shut him down, disconnected the call and proceeded to block his number. Kind of an overkill but alas Tobio’s problem still remained unresolved.

Kunimi and Kindaichi operated on the same wavelength so trying to call him wouldn’t bear any fruitful results, better to save his time. Sighing he climbed up the stairs and made his way towards his mother’s bedroom. Maybe he could take away some of the money his uncle had sent for his birthday a couple of years back which his mother had kept for safe-keeping. That was his money, right?

Hope reignited, he dashed up the remaining steps, threw open the door on the right-hand side and rushed over to the set of drawers where he had last seen his mother store away some of the money he had gotten on the new year from some friends of hers. Though all his hopes were dashed when he tried to pull it open only to find that it was locked, and he had no idea where the key could be.

Not willing to give up, Tobio pulled open the other drawers but only found random knick-knacks, some old travel tickets, pocket change and a broken pair of scissors. But it seemed his luck finally decided to shine a little bit when he spotted a hot glue gun buried under some random socks in the last drawer. If he can’t buy new ones, then he can at least mend his shoes enough to last him a match.

Bumbling down the staircase to the carcass of his shoes, he set about working right there on the floor, not having the mind to relocate to a safer and more convenient place. Nor did he anticipate just how hot the stupid machine gets.

So here he was with his burnt hand stuck under running water, sniffling from the pain traveling up and down his arm in tandem with his heartbeat. At least his shoes now had a workable sole; silver linings indeed.

Turning off the faucet and gingerly drying his hand with the kitchen towel, he lamented his situation. Then decided to do what he thought was the best.

It was 1 a.m. and Tobio was unable to fall asleep. The cold pack he secured against his hand was making it difficult for him to snuggle comfortably in his comforter and the throbs of pain emanating from his hand were like God’s way of punishing him for even daring to think and rummage through his mother’s room.

He had to wake up and get ready in barely 5 hours, be in his best form for the biggest day in his life yet here he was, tired, annoyed and helpless. He couldn’t even change sides without jostling his hand which sent a whole slew of prickly pain all up to his shoulder.

He was a setter, how was he supposed to set without his dominant hand in the best condition?

…

Terribly, was the correct answer. He was barely able to flex his fingers comfortably, let alone set up a high speeding ball. Luckily the coach and his club members barely paid him any heed these days so he was able to sneak on the court without anyone being none the wiser of his hand’s blistery status. He would say that he had done a great job pasting skin-toned band-aids all over his palm to camouflage his minor, minor injury. Pssh as if he was gonna let his chance to stand on the court and win the nationals go just because of a puny, little burn.

He could only pray that his shoes hold up till the end of the game. He had already had three near-falls over the past few hours because of the cracking, poorly held together sole.

If only his teammates could buck up and do what they were supposed to do.

As if on cue, Kunimi missed another spike simply because he was too lazy to jump a bit higher. Tobio’s blood boiled; here he was giving his best sets to maximize their performance and then there were his teammates who didn’t even act like they wanted to win this match.

“Jump higher! That would’ve been a clean shot!”

All he got in reply was a sharp glare and a scoff before the referee blew the whistle for service.

And what followed was the last set of Tobio’s junior high volleyball career.

With no one to spike the flawless set.

….

Oikawa-san hated him, Tobio was sure of it now. He had tried his best to show his senpai how much he had grown, that he was worthy of being taught by him. But he failed. Terribly. And now Oikawa-san hated him.

That thought made something deep in his chest _sting_ so bad. 

He had planned to go to AobaJohsai after winning the championship. Now though, he wouldn't even dream of it. 

Why did his team have to do something like that? To deliberately humiliate him in front of everyone, to _reject_ him, betray him on the court mid-play. All he wanted was for them to improve, to push their limits, to become better like how Oikawa-senpai used to do.

He knew he wouldn't ever be able to achieve the brilliance of his senpai but to think he failed so spectacularly, he hated it. Hated himself.

He didn't deserve to stand on the same court as Oikawa-senpai.

....

It was two days after the match that Kageyama Tobio fell terribly sick. A quick google search revealed that his supposedly minuscule burn that somehow ended up getting infected and if not treated, Tobio could very well end up losing his hand. And get cancer.

So he cried.

What was a setter without his hands? Or one without a spiker to hit his sets?

And he cried till he finally fell back into a restless slumber.

….

His mom still wasn’t home. He had tried calling her multiple times, sniffling through a pounding headache and cradling his hurting arm.

He never got any response.

….

The kitchen was empty.

The last thing he had eaten was the instant ramyeon as lunch the previous day, which he had promptly puked out later that night.

He could only drink water and curl up on the living room sofa with his blanket. He tried calling the airline’s customer service to see if they could provide him with any information on where his mother was but since he didn’t have any details of her travels, it was futile. He sat on the couch, dazedly looking at the phone till his exhausted body gave up and he fell unconscious against the armrest.

….

His head hurt terribly, his stomach felt uncomfortably full yet he barely had any energy to go up to his room, let alone to go fetch a new antibiotic cream tube from the nearby pharmacy.

He fell asleep waiting for his mother to come home.

….

Tobio felt genuinely scared now. He was barely able to open his eyes, his body felt heavy and he didn’t feel like he was getting enough air to breathe. He didn’t know how long he had been lying on the sofa, didn’t know how long it has been since the match, or since his mother just vanished.

He was scared that…was he going to die? Because of some stupid little burn?

He felt his breathing picking up as uncontrollable panic overcame his senses all at once. He didn’t want to die! He wanted his mother, he didn’t want her to come home and find him dead!

He felt awful and _terrified._

He was dying, wasn’t he?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobio gets some well-deserved love and affection

When he came to next, the first thing he noticed was that he wasn’t at his home. It smelt different, the sheets against his bare arms and legs felt different, the voices speaking somewhere off to his side were different. He felt lighter, refreshed.

His hand and wrist felt thick with gauze yet there seemed to be none of that head numbing pain anymore.

Tobio tried to open his eyes slowly, not wanting to be a dumbass like those movie people who opened their eyes way too quickly when in hospital. He didn’t want another headache.

Once adjusted to the lighting of the room, and quickly realizing that it was around early afternoon from the amount of light pouring in from the window, he let his eyes roam the expanse of the beige-brown curtains surrounding his bed, effectively keeping him hidden from the eyes of other patients situated in beds nearby.

He wondered how he got here in the first place. Wasn’t he like, dying? How come he was suddenly here?

Looking around, his gaze fell on the glass of water kept by his bedside with a straw accompanying it. Suddenly realizing how extremely parched he was, he gently and carefully pushed himself up into a semi-sitting position and scooted up till he was able to rest comfortably against the headboard.

“Ah, Kageyama-kun,”

Tobio barely prevented himself from throwing the glass half in grasp on the floor in surprised panic.

“Oh, sorry! Are you alright? I should’ve taken care to not quite startle you like that,” the nurse apologized with a sheepish smile aimed his way. He mumbled out a ‘no problem’ because he didn’t think he would be able to speak unless he got some liquid to soothe his throat.

“Please wait a few moments, I’ll inform your attending doctor and guardian that you’ve regained consciousness,”

Guardian? Was his mother back? Before he could ask the nurse anything, she left through the curtains to do what she had informed him about. Securely taking the glass in his good hand, he sucked up a small sip, near gagging at the awful feeling and stale, foul taste as his mouth and throat got moisturized again. Yuck.

Tobio was, of course, upset that his mother had left him like that but now that she was back, he wasn’t going to give her any grief about it. She was back, and that’s what all mattered to him. Feeling happy, he excitedly waited for her to come running through the curtains and hug him, and then he will ask her to take him to his favorite restaurant because he did deserve some kind of a ‘sorry’. They can get the expensive ice cream sundae from his mother’s favorite bakery and Tobio was going to make her promise to him that she’ll always take him along with her on her trips.

The ruffling of the curtains pulled him out of his musings as a doctor, followed by the nurse from earlier, entered Tobio’s section in the room. Both of them noticed the expectant look with which Tobio was looking at the curtains, waiting for someone.

“Hello Kageyama-kun, I’m Terushima Mori, the doctor in charge of your treatment and stay here in this hospital. This is nurse Aone,” the nurse waved her hand at Tobio, which he returned with a shy one of his own, “and she’ll be looking after you during the day and nurse Hana, whom I’ll introduce you to later, will be there to help you during the night should any need arise.

As of now, you’ve been under the care of our ward for the last 4 days and some hours. You were brought in with a serious case of malnutrition, dehydration, a high fever resulting from a borderline serious infection in a second-degree burn on your right hand’s palm and fingers. Looking at the circumstances and the levels of stress we perceived you to be under, we decided that avoiding heavy doses of strong medicine would be beneficial for a tad bit slow but safer recovery. Any questions till now?”

Tobio fidgeted under the intense gaze of the doctor, feeling out of his zone and nervous.

“Don’t worry Kageyama-kun, we’re here to take care of you. Please ask anything you would like to ask and we’ll provide you the best answer we can,” Nurse Aone assured him, gently squeezing his shoulder once.

“Uh-I- uh, how was I- uh brought here?”

“According to the information we’ve, a concerned neighborhood grandpa, Kayama-san, called the emergency services because he thought something was amiss. And you should be really grateful he did what he did because, even a day later and we don’t know if we would’ve managed to aid you in making a full recovery, Kageyama-kun.”

Tobio nodded, feeling a bit numb from the information he had received. He could’ve really been dead, no kidding, no game; he really would’ve died if not for Saburo-jii-san.

“And my, uh, my mother? Can I-I meet her?”

“We’ve been trying to establish contact with her and find her whereabouts but, I’m sorry Kageyama-kun, we haven’t located your mother yet,” the doctor replied, sympathy oozing off his gestures and body language.

“What?? But you said my ‘guardian’ is here,” he turned to accusingly face the nurse, “If not my mom then who..?”

“They stated that they’re your uncle, Kurahara-san. He was the only relative of yours that the hospital was able to establish contact with. Can you verify their relation with you Kageyama-kun?”

Tobio was confused. That certainly wasn’t a name he was expecting to hear.

After the separation of his parents, the only time he heard of his uncle was when he sent him gifts or wishes for his birthday. Before that, he couldn’t remember much aside from that fateful day when he had promised said uncle to marry him in case he never found someone else.

Just thinking back made him feel so embarrassed he kind of didn’t want to face him.

Not fully able to stump down the red hue rising on his cheeks, he nodded in affirmation at the doctor’s question.

The nurse smiled and excused herself to fetch his uncle and promptly returned with a frazzled looking man.

“Tobio-chan, oh my lord, I-how-!”

In the next moment, Tobio found himself engulfed in a warm hug, his uncle’s arms carefully circling around his head, shoulders, and back; pulling him snug against his chest.

“You should’ve c-called me when y-your mother wasn’t picking up the ph-phone you fool,”

Tobio blushed beet red, having not had the sense to call his uncle all this while but then the piece of information that stated that, he didn’t even have his number, popped up in his head, “I didn’t have your number,”

“What? But I sent it to you on the card I sent for your 11th birthday, kid?”

“Card?”

Kakeru looked at his nephew’s confused expression and instantly deduced what must’ve happened, “Ahh, don’t mind,”

“Uh, okay?”

Seriously, why was this boy so cluelessly adorable?

“I’m glad you’re okay now, Tobio-chan, to think that I was so close to losing you…ARGH!”

Tobio didn’t know how to react when his uncle started crying right on his shoulder. He decided to follow what he had seen in movies. Raising his good hand, he patted the man’s back, albeit a bit awkwardly, “I’m feeling okay now uncle,”

“Ahem, Kurahara-san?”

“Ah, umm,” taking the tissue the nurse offered him with a smile, he wiped his leaky nose, “Sorry, I just-,”

The nurse patted his back reassuringly, “We understand, don’t worry.”

“As I was saying about Kageyama-kun’s recovery plan; we would like to keep him under observation here for two days following which, if his recovery rate is healthy enough, he can go back home after the legalities with the child protection services are completed. Two officers will be coming in the evening to take both of your accounts but we can always re-schedule them,” the doctor turned to face Tobio, “if you don’t feel good Kageyama-kun. Now, Aone-san will be bringing you your lunch in a few minutes and I would like if you will be able to finish it, you need the nutrition and energy.”

Tobio nodded in reply, getting a smile aimed his way by the doctor.

“Uhhm,” Kakeru piped up, everyone’s attention shifting on him “I was wondering if Tobio could possibly be shifted to a new room? Somewhere private and quiet?”

Now that he brought it up, the noise from the other patients in the big hall room seemed to amplify in Tobio’s ears.

“We will have to check for availability but yes, if you would like a private room that can certainly be arranged. You can request for the same at the reception and they’ll help you out,”

Kakeru nodded and smiled, bowing down to both the nurse and the doctor, “Got it, thank you so much both of you for all the help and everything you’ve done for us!”

The nurse smiled, “It’s why we’re here, Kurahara-san,” she bowed once before taking her leave to return to her duties. The doctor bid his farewell to the uncle-nephew pair, reminding Tobio to rest well, before exiting through the curtains.

“How are you feeling Tobio-chan?”

Tobio looked at the worried expression on his uncle’s face which ended up being some kind of catalyst to his own fragile emotional state. He felt his eyes well up with tears.

“Aww no, Tobio, hey buddy,”

“I-,” hiccups overtook his words, followed by hitched breaths, “missed you.”

Kakeru pulled his nephew against his torso, wiping his quickly pouring tears with his thumb, “I missed you too, so much.” He let the boy bury himself inside his jacket, holding onto his shaking shoulders and caressing the back of his neck in a soothing motion.

“Easy there cub, let yourself breathe,”

The only reply Kakeru got was a couple of successive nods against his chest. He waited at least a bit of the pent up anguish flowed out of Tobio’s system, offering him reassuring words, squeezes and water.

“I’m never leaving you again, never,”

“P-promise?”

“Promise.” Stepping back a bit, he brushed the bangs off his nephew’s forehead and planted a little peck there. Kakeru couldn’t hold back the little laugh at the kid’s overly perplexed and somewhat offended reaction. “What? Don’t like your uncle’s _kithes_ anymore, huh?”

“No! Shut up! No!” Tobio could physically feel the heat gathering in his cheeks and ears. Those were some mortifying details from a mortifying childhood sleepover he certainly didn’t want to remember.

“Awww Tobi-chan, why so embarrassed~? Is it old age, you think you’re too old for some display of affection now huh?”

“Ah noo!! It’s-it’s-only babies like kisses! I-I’m big now!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes! I even got to stay at home _alone_! That means I’m a big boy uncle!”

“Oh yeah…you did, didn’t you?”

Sensing the suddenly tense air, Tobio fell silent. He observed the way his uncle worked his jaw, obviously agitated.

“Uhmm, uncle?”

Kakeru sighed, massaging his forehead to ease off the stress headache building up. Pulling up the chair beside the bed, he sat down right beside Tobio’s side.

“Sorry, I’m just stressed, don’t worry Tobio-chan,”

“But-,”

“I’ll explain, everything. But you just woke up and you don’t need anything to deter your recovery, right?”

Tobio nodded because that was true. He wanted to get well soon and then go and find his mother. And play volleyball; maybe uncle would play with him too.

“You’re a good kid, the best kid,”

His head felt like it would explode in reaction to the sudden praise. Tobio felt something flutter in his chest, his lips pulling up unrestrained into a wobbly smile.

Kakeru laughed, ruffling the boy’s hair, “So adorable, I missed you lots, Tobio-chan.”

They sat in companionable silence for a little while, Kakeru willing his nephew to rest back and close his eyes for some time. It wasn’t good to tire his body out so quickly after barely having awoken from his unconsciousness spell.

“Knock knock,” came a voice from the other side of the curtains, startling the two.

“Guess who?” came the same voice again. Kakeru sighed, unable to stop the smile forming on his face.

“Haiji-san,”

“Doot-doot, try again,”

Tobio looked perplexed at his uncle, getting a head-pat in response.

_“Haiji-chan”_

“Close enough but not right, last chance,”

“Oh for the love of,” he went over and yanked the curtain aside, revealing his goof of a boyfriend to his easily impressionable nephew. In hindsight maybe he should’ve pre-warned Tobio rather than have him confront the real deal in one go. “Last chance to get in before you get banned forever,”

“You’re no fun Kakeru-chi,”

Kakeru ignored him in favor of introducing him to a confused and slightly scared Tobio, “Tobio-chan, this is my boyfriend, Haiji Kiyose; Haiji-san, Tobio-chan,”

Haiji immediately went over to the kid’s side, taking his good hand gently and shaking it, “Really nice to meet you little Tobio-chan! Your uncle here always talks about you! And you’re all bits cute as he says!”

“Haiji-san, he just woke up, go easy on him,”

“I-,” Tobio felt thoroughly overwhelmed by this new presence, he was so bright, like a big puppy. He weirdly reminded him of Oikawa-san, “You look like my senpai,” he ended up blurting out, his brain to mouth filter going out of order.

“Huh? Really? Well, ain’t that nice! I won’t be so much a stranger now, then.”

“Uh, yes?”

Kakeru sighed. He was doing a lot of sighing nowadays.

“Why are you suddenly here Haiji-san? Weren’t you supposed to come tomorrow?”

Haiji shot him a bright grin, pointing towards the bag slung over his shoulder, “I knew you were going to stay here but in the rush you left, you didn’t even pack a single thing. So instead of you having to come home and leave Tobio-chan alone, or you sleeping in these same dirty clothes, I just brought your stuff beforehand.”

“I-that’s,”

“Speechless, huh?”

Haiji wiggled his eyebrows, laughing when he saw Tobio trying and failing to imitate his action.

“Yeah, that was really kind of you Haiji-san, thank you,”

“Anytime for you Kakeru-chi,”

“Don’t creep the kid out Haiji-san,”

Haiji looked affronted at the accusation and was going to retort when they got interrupted by the nurse coming in with a tray of food for Tobio.

Haiji immediately offered to hold the tray when he saw her fiddling with the switches to unlock the bed table. Once it was in place and Tobio was situated comfortably, he placed the tray on the table, the nurse thanking them and informing Tobio that once he was done, to press the button by his bedside and one nurse or steward will come to collect the tray.

Looking at the food, Tobio couldn’t help but make a sour face, unknowing to the fact that Haiji was making the same face as they gazed down at the contents.

“Tobio-chan, you’ve to eat it, no excuses.”

“But it looks yuck!”

“Your body is weak cub, you need food that is easy to digest,”

“Nah man, it looks like someone _already_ digested this food before putting it on the tray,” Haiji piped in, getting a glare aimed his way.

Kakeru sighed, picking up the spoon and gathering some mashed veggies in it. Hovering it right outside his nephew’s lips he urged him, “Open up,”

Feeling weirdly dotted upon, Tobio slowly opened his mouth and ate the food offered to him. Strangely enough, it didn’t taste half as bad as it looked, though the texture certainly wasn’t what he would prefer. Next followed was a spoon full of mild coconut soup. Kakeru continued in this pattern, feeding his nephew, wiping his chin when something accidentally dribbled down.

Haiji smiled, excusing himself to go fetch some food for himself and his boyfriend from the floor’s cafeteria.

Though when he returned, instead of the happy atmosphere he had left, he came back to something quite opposite.

Tobio was peacefully asleep, snuggled up in his blankets but Kakeru, he was another story.

If the way he was gripping the edge of the bed was anything to go by, his boyfriend was frankly livid.

“Kakeru? What’s wrong? Tobio is okay, right?”

Instead of getting any answers, Haiji soon found his boyfriend wrapped around him, breathing in a deliberate pattern.

“Hey? Kakeru?”

All he got in reply was a few shakes of the head.

“Excuse me, is this Kageyama Tobio’s bed?”


End file.
